When the Curtain Falls
by annaquinnskywalker
Summary: The final year at Hogwarts for Mssrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs seems more like the final act in an epic performed on stage. Follow them through the final act and beyond. (Formerly 'Seventh Year Full Moon').
1. The Day of the Full

**Hello, all! After one chapter of _The Marauder's Years_, I have hit a wall. Pathetic, I know. So, hopefully to get the creative juices flowing, here's a short story about the day of the full moon/the morning after… Hope it's good! Also, not beta'd. BTW, how do you go about getting someone to beta these things? Oh gosh, I'm rambling…Ahem, without further ado, here's the story. **

**..I'm not JK Rowling, which is obvious from my ever so eloquent speech above… **

The sun shined, bright and promising into the window of the seventh year Gryffindor's room and stirred the four boys from their sleep. The first to rise was James Potter, the leader of their group. He looked around at the other beds, running a hand through his tangled black hair. Slipping his glasses onto his face, he took a better look at the group.

At the bed next to his, Sirius Black was violently trying to untangle himself from his sheets, unsuccessfully so far, at least. James could hear him cursing quite loudly, and with an undignified "BLOODY HELL!" he fell to the ground with a thud, then looked around. "'Lo James. Fancy seeing you here."

Laughing quietly to himself, he looked to the bed across from his. Peter Pettigrew was already sitting up, rubbing his hands tiredly over his face. His sandy blond hair stuck out at odd angles as he yawned and stretched his arms above his head. James then looked to the last member, and sighed.

Remus Lupin was usually already up, showered, and dressed for the day. However, this morning the curtains were still drawn around his bed. Soft groaning could be heard from behind them, signaling he was awake. James looked to Sirius, who was now standing and said to him, "You want to get him out of bed? I'll grab his clothes. Pete? You wanna be on breakfast duty?"

The three of them sprung to action: Sirius sighed and began toward the fourth boy's bed, James opened Remus' trunk and was busy choosing a tie, shirt, and trousers, and Peter saluted, turning on his heel and heading to the Great Hall. This was the routine on the mornings before a Full Moon. Remus was usually too tired, achy, and sick to really do much of anything, but the others knew that in the long run, forcing him out of bed would make things less suspicious, and give Remus at least a few more hours of normalcy.

**Sirius POV**-

"Remmy? Remus, up you get." Sirius pulled the curtains back from the sick boy's bed, and sighed. They were always sighing on these days.

Remus groaned and turned to face him, "Sirius? Wha-what time is it?"

Sirius was always much more patient with the boy than with the others, but on the mornings before the Full, his treatment of Remus bordered on coddling. "It's only half-past seven. You're fine, you've not missed classes or anything. James is getting your stuff, and Pete's getting breakfast. Now, let's get you up, shall we?" Sirius smiled his most charming smile.

The two of them had been through this enough, and Remus gave a weak smile and held out his hands. Sirius grabbed them and gently helped him first into a sitting position, then up to his feet. Remus winced and sat heavily on the bed. "I'm sorry, Sirius. I'm so sorry." Remus always got very apologetic, and Sirius, James, and Pete always tried their best to be patient.

"What for Remus? Did you waltz out that night thinking, 'you know what, I think I'll pet this werewolf.' No? Well then, nothing to apologise for. If you don't want to get out of bed, then just lie back down. We'll get you up in time for your _date_." Sirius waggled his eyebrows, though his teasing lacked conviction.

To his relief, Remus laughed and said, "Well, when you say it like that…" and held his hands back up. Sirius let out a bark of laughter and helped him back to a standing position.

"JAMES! Where's this boy's pants?" Sirius yelled over his shoulder, and Remus hit him on the back of his head.

After James and Sirius got Remus dressed with as much dignity as the two pranksters could manage, Peter returned with toast, jam, and tea and pretty much forced it down the werewolf's throat. James gave Remus a once over and when he was satisfied, the four of them filed out of the room.

**Remus' POV-**

First class of the day was Defense. Remus could care less what class they were in, or where he was, or really who was talking to him, if he was honest. His head was pounding, and he was losing the battle with sleep. Worst of all, the line was beginning to blur between the mind of the boy and the wolf, and Remus' control was beginning to slip. He lay his head on his desk, and tried to focus on his friends, teachers, classmates, whomever, and not on how much he wanted to bite, kill, eat-

"Remus! Come on, mate, wake up! Class let out five minutes ago!" James was shaking his shoulders, and Sirius and Pete were standing behind him, Peter holding his bag. Remus jerked awake, and in his confusion, growled and bit James' hand.

"SHIT Remus! Bloody _hell_, that hurt." He was looking at his hand, and then sighed. "Skin's not broken, no harm done. Maybe you should just skip the rest of your classes today, yeah? Come on. To the hospital wing!" James said, pointing heroically out the door and taking off at a sprint out the door. A few seconds later, he could be heard yelling "You wankers! You were _supposed_ to follow me!" There was a pause, and the others looked at each other. Remus was still slightly horrified at the earlier event, but was finding it hard to care, or concentrate for that matter. They started walking toward the hospital wing, when Remus stopped. He looked impossibly sad, and weak, and tired, and Sirius wished, not for the first time, that he could fix this. But he couldn't. None of them could.

"I'm sorry, guys. I-I don't think that's ever happened before. If you don't want to come out this time, I'll be fine. I promise." Remus looked down at the ground. He sat on the stairs, utterly exhausted.

James walked back saying, "You guys suck. McGonegall was a bit pissed at my 'unruly display', and I lost fifteen points because of you lot. You alright there, Moony?" He looked down at his friend.

Sirius answered before Remus had the chance. "Dear Remmykins was just trying to convince us to stay in tonight due to his tiny lapse in self control. I was about to tell him that he can just piss off."

James chose to just ignore the conversation all together. "Come on, Remus. Up you get." He hoisted Remus to his feet. Letting Remus lean heavily on him, James led him to the hospital wing, Sirius and Peter following.


	2. The Night Of (Pt 1)

**YOU GUYS. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get this one up. No explanation other than I was lazy. So now that that's all sorted, here's chapter two!**

**Oh right. Ahem: I'm still not JK Rowling. I checked. Nor do I own any of the characters or blah, blah, blah-Here we go! **

It was almost 6:00 when Madame Pomfrey moved to wake Remus. She was armed with pain potions and a soft blanket. When she reached the bed, Pomfrey looked down at the fitfully sleeping boy. She set down the potions and lightly shook Remus awake. "Mr. Lupin, It's time." She still sounded professional, but her usual stern tone was missing.

Remus' eyes snapped open and in a panic, he shot up into a sitting position. He immediately regretted it. He bit back a moan and sunk back into bed. "What time is it?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Lupin, you still have an hour. Here, drink this." She handed him the potions, and tried to hide a smirk as he cringed at the taste. "Ready?"

"No, but who cares, yeah?" Remus said, bitterness clearly evident. He struggled to get standing, but only got so far as sitting before he gave up, tired and embarrassed. "Madame Pomfrey? Can..can you help, please?" He hated showing weakness. However, it just couldn't be helped. Not this time.

"Oh! Of course dear." She hoisted the red faced boy to his feet, and wrapped the blanket around him as he started shivering. "Alright, Mr. Lupin?" She looked worriedly at Remus, who was quickly becoming paler and paler.

"Yes, ma'am." He couldn't manage to say much else. Pomfrey held under his arm, and the two of them started out onto the grounds. When she touched the willow, stopping it, she turned to Remus. Her expression softened when she saw him, shaking so violently his teeth chattered and clutching at the blanket she had given him.

"Alright, my dear. This is where I leave you." She said the same thing every time, but after six years of it, Remus found himself appreciating the sentiment. He began to take the blanket off to give it to Madame Pomfrey, but she stopped him, saying "Keep it, Remus. I've got plenty."

Remus sighed, but smiled and said, "I'd better go." His joints were stiff and they clicked as he ducked under the tree, not looking back as he made his way through the tunnel.

**James POV-**

James checked his watch, _6:00_, and jumped lightly to his feet. "Alright lads, off we go. Wormtail, you have the snacks, yes? Didn't eat them this time?"

Peter had the decency to look guiltily at the floor before smiling and holding up the bag filled with food from dinner. "Course not. Had time to eat my own food this time, didn't I?"

Sirius smirked and cuffed him on the shoulder. "But that didn't stop you last time, did it?" He laughed, and Peter blushed.

"Well, then. I suppose we're set!" James grinned at the other two, but it was forced. They all knew what was to come, and it never got any better for any of them. James could never get over how painful the transformation looked; how Remus' face scrunched up as his humanity left him. Sirius often woke in the dead of night, hearing the tortured cries and screams of his friend, and hearing the sickening crunch of bones and the snapping of god knows what. Peter was simply frightened of what the boy became, and Remus was still terrified he'd wake up and find everyone had gone; that they had lied. That he had no friends.

"Right." James said, draping the cloak over them, and then they made their way to the willow.

**Sirius' POV-**

Sirius was always awestruck at watching his friends transform. He remembered when James first managed the animagus transformation; tears had welled up in his eyes before he wiped them away and laughed. It was no different now. As he watched Peter shrink down into a tiny rat, he still got glassy eyed and wore a disbelieving grin. They had done it. They had managed what most wizards couldn't achieve in a lifetime, and all for their friend.

"Sirius! Come _on!_ The willow won't wait forever, you know!" He snapped out of his reverie to see that Peter and James were now under the tree, peeking out from the tunnel. He gave a deep sigh and ran for it.

They trudged for what seems like hours to Sirius (in reality, it had been exactly four minutes) until they reached a worn wooden door. James pushed on it, and with a creak, it budged, revealing a very dark and dirty old house. Shivering in what used to be the parlor, was Remus. He was sat on a couch the color of dirt. Perhaps at one time it had been nice, with decorative trim and a fancy velvet feel to it; now the trim had been ripped off, and stuffing seeped to the floor below. The velvet had been caked in dirt and blood. "Oh. H-hey guys." Remus tried to smile. He tried to sound confident and calm. He managed to grimace and sound terribly small and scared.

Sirius coughed and said, "Well, how long've we got? An hour? Thirty minutes?" He plopped down on the couch next to Remus, producing a thick cloud of dust.

"Try five or ten minutes. I thought maybe you guys had finally been scared off." Remus mumbled the last part, but James still heard. He gripped the shaking boy's shoulders and said, "Look here, Lupin. You're one of my best mates. You're practically my brother. How many times do I have to tell you, I love you, and I'm not going anywhere?"

Sirius looked between the two before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Should I leave you two alone, then? Come on, Pete, let's give them some space." He wiped his eyes, then cleared his throat. "But seriously, everything this nancy said, I mean it too. So does Peter. No matter what you turn into, we'll never think less of you. Got it?" Peter nodded along in agreement.

"I got it, I got it. I-" Whatever he was going to say, he never got the chance. He suddenly gasped and it started.

In an instant, the others shifted into their respective forms, and sat. And waited.

First it was his legs. As fur shot out through his skin, his knees reversed with a sickening pop. He fell to the ground, screaming. Feet changed into paws, and with an exceptionally loud shriek, a tail forced its way to existence. His hands became bloody when claws ripped through, and for the first time since the marauders joined him, he brought his hands to his face as it began to change.

Immediately, Sirius shifted back, and held onto his hands, yelling over the werewolf's screams and tears, "Come'on Remus, hands down, please!" James marveled at how calm Sirius sounded while holding hands with a transforming werewolf. He couldn't stop Remus from leaving a deep and jagged mark above his own eye, but other than that, the werewolf's face was unmarred.

Suddenly, Remus stopped screaming. He looked fully like a wolf, but the others knew Remus was still in there, if only for a moment. He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a pitiful whimper as Prongs stamped his hoof in unease and helplessness. He knew what was happening-that the wolf and Remus were fighting over residence in the boy's mind-and he knew who would win tonight. After a moment, the wolf's eyes shot open, and instead of the kind, sad, amber eyes the others recognised as their friend's, angry, suspicious, yellow eyes surveyed the ragtag group of animals. He growled at them, still disoriented, and tried to stand on wobbly new legs. When he was confident he could stand, Wormtail caught his eye. He charged at the anxious rat, and with a terrified squeak, it sprinted for a hole in the wall. Moony, still groggy and uncoordinated, went headfirst into the wall, and in fright, he turned and limped up the stairs. The stag and the grim shared a look. It was going to be a long night.

**Listen, guys. I'm sorry that sucked. But I felt like you needed something new, so here it is. I may go back and edit it further, if I don't get too lazy. **


	3. The Night Of (pt 2)

**Guys, school has been BRUTAL. That's all I'm going to say on the matter. Here's chapter 3. Try not to kill me. Not much dialogue, seeing as no one has the capacity to talk at the moment.. So it may be a bit dry. And I apologise. **

**Oh right, one last thing. Let's be real guys. Would anyone actually believe me if I said it was mine? No? Didn't think so.**

A crash upstairs sent Padfoot and Prongs into action. They bolted up and immediately found Moony curled up in the far corner, gnawing on his hind leg and staring at the pair. Padfoot took a tentative step toward him, only to be growled at for his efforts. Prongs huffed and lowered his head, almost as a warning. All at once, Padfoot leapt toward the werewolf who begun to charge at him. Prongs watched as the two became tangled on the floor, a mess of fur and gnashing teeth. Padfoot was outmatched and quickly tiring, and barked loudly to get the stag's attention. The bark distracted Moony, giving Padfoot a chance to escape.

The animagi shared a look, and took off down the stairs. Padfoot darted to the kitchen, while Prongs stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Predictably, Moony was soon racing down the stairs after them, and his his rage fueled stupor, didn't notice Prongs until he was being thrown into the hallway. He fell with a yelp and a loud thud, and didn't get back up. Prongs stood over him, as if waiting for him to begin another attack, but the werewolf still did not move. He looked up at Prongs, then rolled onto his back-a sign of submission.

Prongs was confused, and looked back at Padfoot. He could swear the dog was smirking. _Well this is new,_ thought Prongs, _but what now?_ After staring at the wolf for a moment more, he took a step back, allowing Moony to get back to his feet. He never took his eyes off the pair of strange animals as he limped back to the bedroom.

Padfoot and Prongs let out a sigh of relief, and followed him up the stairs, quickening their pace when they heard whimpering begin. They both knew what it meant: the moon was setting, and Remus would soon be back.

When they reached the room, Moony was laying on the floor, covering his muzzle with his paws as if trying to cover his eyes. The other two sat and waited, and soon was joined by the third animagus. Wormtail managed an apologetic glance at the two before making his way to the top of the old splintered dresser against the far wall.

At first, Moony only whined-short, staccato, pitiful sounds from deep in his throat. Then the shaking picked up and the whining began louder and more pained. Then it really began. First, the thick fur receded back into his skin as fangs and claws did the same. Joints that had been reversed to accommodate canine legs and paws loudly cracked back into place. The pained howls quickly became screams of a young boy in agony as his face shrank and regained human qualities. When he was finished, he lay curled into himself, shaking violently. Still his friends remained as animals; they knew that while yes, Remus was back in the physical sense, he was also weak and exhausted while the wolf was still strong. Moony wasn't going to give up control so easily, and Padfoot figured Remus wouldn't be back for another thirty minutes or so. He slowly padded toward the boy, and when he noticed the claws and fangs had truly disappeared, backed up to where he started. The three shared a look, and in one quick and fluid motion, were teenaged boys once again.

**Also, sorry the chapter is way short. I'll have another chapter (the last chapter) up soon, I promise!**


	4. The Morning After

**Writing is hard, guise. Still, not JKR, btw. Working on it, though.**

The three boys started moving at once. They worked out a system for right after the first moon they spent together, figuring a newly human Remus would appreciate the routine; no surprises. Peter and Sirius crashed down the stairs to the kitchen. As James looked down at the shivering boy, he heard _Alohamora, _then the two boys crashed back up the stairs. Remus winced at every step.

"_Jesus,_ guys. Keep it down!" James whispered harshly. Immediately, the other two slowed their pace as they entered the room, and both wore sheepish expressions. Sirius approached the pair, arms full of blankets and clothes. Peter was busy working on conjuring a fire in the back corner that didn't burn down the whole shack in the process.

James knelt down beside Remus. "Remus? Moony? Are you back with us?" He gingerly reached out his hand for his friend's shoulder, but stopped when Remus eyed him warily and began growling softly. "I'll take that as a 'no' then. Look, bud, you scratched your face up pretty bad, and I know you'll thank me later for this. Sirius, seeing as you're suddenly an expert werewolf wrangler, care to help me out?"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter and dropped the blankets on the floor in a heap as Peter joined the group. "Right. Pete, _I need you_!" He batted his eyes at the short boy, who shoved him. "But seriously, I'm going to grab him from behind and hold his face still and his arms back. It's up to you to keep him from kicking. Sit on 'im if you have to."

Peter nodded, and the two sized up Remus before moving. "Sorry, Moonpie," Sirius sighed as he knelt behind Remus, quickly and fluidly pushing his arms under Remus' and taking hold of his face. Immediately, Remus began to thrash about, his arms stuck out from his body, and struggled to wrench his face free from Sirius' hands, teeth gnashing and eyes crazed. Peter stood stock still, unable to move. "PETE! Come'on, I can't hold him all day, and Prongs sure as Hell can't get close enough to do anything with him doing _that_!"

He snapped out of it and lunged at the werewolf's legs, and Sirius was impressed when he dodged a kick to the face and grabbed the legs, forcing them down with all his weight. "GOT HIM!"

"Alright Moony, nothing sexual, or I swear..." James always overcompensated with humour right after the moon. He draped a tattered blanket over the torso of his now immobile friend, who was still struggling fiercely, his body twisting in the others' grip. Joints were being stretched and his shoulder popped, causing Remus to howl in pain and struggle all the more. "Alright, alright. Enough of that." James spoke as though he were talking to a child. "Sirius, shift a bit. I can't-"

Sirius seemed to read his mind as he slowly let go of Remus' face and pulled his arms out. Before Remus had time to react, however, he had his knees resting on Remus' arms and resumed his hold on his face, holding his head down against the floorboards. " 'M more comfortable like this anyway." James then straddled Remus and sat on his chest.

He pulled out his wand and looked Remus in the eye. His heart broke when he saw no recognition in his friend's eyes. He looked terrified, like a trapped animal. He shook himself from his thoughts and pointed the wand at the deepest cut across his eye. He murmured the ancient words and the cut glowed and stopped bleeding. It didn't sew itself shut, however. James took the damp cloth from the floor and wiped Remus' face off, then taped a heavy bandage across his eye. He did the same with the cut on his cheek. "There, good as new, mate," James said as he got off Remus. "Pete, you can let go, but Sirius, I'd keep holding on. At least to his arms. Wouldn't want to undo all the work I did." Pete let go of his legs and stood next to James and the pair watched as Sirius wrenched Remus to his feet, holding his arms behind his back. He then guided him to a worn out, cushy chair, and sat down, pulling Remus into his lap.

Fifteen minutes later, and Remus finally stopped moving and slumped against Sirius. "Hey, mate, you with us?" Remus nodded painfully, unable to talk just yet. The others knew he'd still be disoriented for a few hours yet, but at least now he wouldn't run or try to attack them. "Good. My arms were starting to get tired. Oh, I bet your shoulder hurts, yeah? We'll fix it. Just don't get all mad, okay?" Sirius looked at James who stood and walked up to the pair. He smiled. "Okay, Moony?" Remus moaned a flopped his head up to look at James. James laughed saying, "You look.._good?_ I dunno." James kept talking as he took Remus' arm and laced his fingers in one hand, the other hand gripping above his elbow. "Ladies love scars Remus, we've told you for years. You're going to have to fight 'em off, Moons." Sirius and James locked eyes, and Sirius put his arms back around Remus' torso. "Now, personally, I've got my good looks and-" He pulled hard at the arm, popping it back into place. He raised his voice to accommodate the scream that followed. "-charisma, but you, you've got the _mystery._"

Remus looked back up, panting. "You wanker." His voice sounded gravelly and was barely above a whisper, but just to hear him talking was a good sign. His eyes drooped, but he fought to stay awake.

"Rems, what're you doing? Just go to sleep. Jesus mate, you're making us all look bad." James beamed when Remus grinned.

"You have any idea how…gets after-after_that?"_ Remus slurred. The others looked down at him as if trying to understand what he said, but gave up. Sirius pulled Remus up to stand and helped him stay upright. Once he had tried to carry him, and he got hit in the face. He couldn't blame him for trying to salvage some dignity, though. From then on, he just helped him walk. Peter transformed once again into a rat and climbed up James leg to sit on his shoulder. James draped the cloak over them, and they began their walk back up to the castle. Breakfast was starting, so once they arrived at the doors, James took the cloak back off and shoved it into his bag.

Sirius and Peter looked at him, but Remus was too busy trying to stay upright to care. "James, what-"

"We'll say we convinced Remus to sneak out with us. We got him _way_ drunk, and he fell on his face." James shrugged.

"You're joking! James, you've lost your mind! Remus'll be pissed when he-"

"But it'll give an excuse for him being missing last night, it'll explain the cuts on his face, it'll even explain why he'll be in bed all day today. Sure, he may lose some respect, but it'll be much better than someone piecing everything together. And we can't just sneak him up. It took too long to get him back. There's too many people." Sirius shook his head, but didn't argue. The pair took a deep breath and opened the doors. No one was fazed by the self-dubbed Marauders sneaking back into the castle, so they easily made their way up the stairs to the portrait hole, only to be stopped by Lily.

"What the bloody hell did you lot do to him?!" Her face turned red, as if anticipating the answer to be infuriating. James opened his mouth to answer, but shut it when her expression changed. "Wait. Last night was full moon, wasn't it?" They shoved her into the common room. James grabbed her harshly by the arm and pulled her with them until all five were in the boys' room. Peter jumped off his shoulder and ran into the bathroom, only to emerge human.

"Wha- where were you lot?" He yawned his most believable yawn and rubbed his eyes.

"Lily knows." Sirius said over his shoulder as he laid a groaning Remus down on his bed. He murmured, "Shhh, it's Saturday, genius. No classes, so just sleep." He pushed Remus gently down, and the boy immediately fell asleep.

"Everything?" Peter's demeanor had instantly changed.

Sirius sat heavily on his own bed and look at Lily who stood in the middle of the room with her eyes wide. "Not yet."

**You guys. I couldn't end it. It's taken a life of it's own! Someone help! Anywho, not last chapter anymore.** **grumpgrumpgrump**


	5. An Explanation

**WOAH GUISE. I'm super pumped with all this feedback. Imma just respond here to a few:**

Firenze Fox: I'm so glad I surprised you! Also, I've never considered writing any romance, but I swear these characters are living their own lives. If they want to get together within the span of what I'm writing, then I'm powerless to stop it. ;)

KeepCalmAndMarryAMarauder: Thank you! So kind! **BTW** everyone: KCAMAM (can I call you KCAMAM?) is a BRILLIANT writer. Check 'em out.

Everyone else: I had to drop out of university, so I'll have a LOT more time to update. So I will. SOON. *peeks ominously over a counter then slowly ducks out of sight*

**Anyways, still not. And yes, still trying. Not going well.**

"So it's true?" Lily had stopped standing in the middle of the room, but was now sat heavily on the floor. She stared straight ahead. James got up from his bed and knelt in front of her.

"Yeah, it's true. What're you going to do about it?" He looked directly into her eyes, as if challenging her. Her face turned red, and her eyes bore into his.

"Are you out of your mind? Do you honestly think I would suddenly change my mind about the only one of you four that I can stand?" she smirked. "He's still Remus. Just...now I know what that means exactly." The three conscious boys let out the collective breath they had all been holding.

"Merlin, Lily. You're alright, you know?" Sirius said as he ran a hand trough his hair. Remus groaned in his sleep, and all three boys jerked their heads to look worriedly. Sirius jumped lightly from his bed and walked over to the sleeping boy. "Remus, Remmy, Rems. Quiet down, will ya? We're _trying _to have an intelligent conversation." He babbled on as he checked Remus' face and shoulder. "Which, no offense, but I'm not sure you could really contribute much to at the moment." Once he was satisfied, he readjusted the blanket over his friend and walked back to his bed. Lily had watched the whole time. She laughed.

"It's like I hardly know you lot. All this time I had assumed you were a bunch of bastards-" James made an indignant sound, as if shocked that his beloved Lily was capable of such language "-but here you are, a bunch of mother hens." She leaned back on her arms and looked at the ceiling. "So, how long have you all known? I've known since last November." Her gaze moved to James.

"Second year. It used to be so much worse. He'd come back days later, hardly able to walk and _covered_ in gashes and bruises." He sighed and looked to Remus. "It was so bad before-" he caught himself and swung his head to stare wide eyed at Lily. Sirius and Peter had tensed as well. Lily looked from one face to the other.

"Before what? James Potter, don't do that. You can trust me. I've not run out screaming to everyone about Remus being a werewolf, have I?" She fixed her eyes on James, whose gaze quickly fell to the floor.

"You need to understand. Remus was literally tearing himself apart. It killed us to not be able to help him." He let out a quiet, humourless laugh. "He said that us knowing and not _hating him_ was enough. Can you imagine? 12 years old, and worried that he'd be cast out for something he can't even control." James shook his head. "Anyway. Around February of our third year, Sirius came to Pete and I and started going off about how animals couldn't contract lycanthropy. He shoved a book in our faces and went on and on about animagi. So, we worked in secret, even in the summer, until we were sure we had everything perfect. We each transformed for the first time right before fifth year started. And we've been with him every full moon ever since." He looked up to see Lily with tears in her eyes.

"Aw Lily, don't cry. Look, we know we were stupid. We just _had _to do someth-" Lily threw her arms around James' neck.

"I was wrong about you, James Potter," she whispered. He was almost too shocked to return the hug. _Almost._

"Oi! We're still in here you know!" Sirius said over the sounds of Peter fake retching. Lily laughed and looked at Peter.

"Wait, so that rat on James' shoulder? The one that ran into the bathroom?" Lily laughed again, and James' smile grew wider at the sound. "You really had me fooled when you stepped out, but you were with them all night weren't you? You are a brilliant actor, Peter."

Peter shrugged. "I've gotta be good at something." He grinned at her and ducked his head. "It comes in handy when we get in a tight spot."

"Yeah, Lily, you should see the man work. Truly spectacular!" Sirius said as he put a hand to his heart. Peter threw a pillow at Sirius' head.

"So what about you, Sirius? James? Peter is a rat, but what about you?" She looked at the two expectantly. Sirius grinned and stood once more. With a quiet pop, a large black dog sat in his place. Lily jumped up off the floor and slowly approached him. "And you, James? What're you?"

James coughed. "Well, Lils, if I changed we'd all get a bit cramped. But I'm a stag. Glorious and steadfast!" He puffed out his chest and looked sideway to Lily who rolled her eyes.

"Don't push it, Potter." Immediately, he deflated and pouted. "Does it hurt? Changing like that?"

"What, when we change? Nope. It tingles for a moment, like when you've had one too many firewhiskeys, but it never hurts." Sirius was back, and leaned against his bed as he sat on the floor.

"Does it hurt Remus to change?" The room fell silent. "I-I mean, I know he hurts himself once he's changed, but is it like when you guys change? Just a tingle?" She looked at the bed in the corner with it's curtains drawn.

James sighed. "It's way different. And it's agonizing just to hear him scream, so I can't imagine how it must actually feel. I read somewhere, years ago, that the pain is equal to if not greater than being Crucio'd. You know the shrieking shack isn't haunted, right?"

Lily's heart sank. "It's _Remus_?! Bu-but...oh my _god_." She stared at the occupied bed. "Oh, Remus."

Sirius actually laughed, causing Lily to startle and look harshly at him. "Well, once we got into a howling contest before the moon rose. He could actually howl, but I sounded more like I was just screaming bloody murder. Pathetic, really." He shook his head as the others laughed.

Just like that, the atmosphere changed, and they laughed and talked for hours. James told her the excuse they settled on, which she, surprisingly, thought was a fantastic story. Remus stirred only once, despite the volume. Finally, Lily rose to her feet.

"I'd better go. Dorcas had wanted to work on that potions essay sometime today." She smiled warmly at the trio. "You boys truly are one of a kind. He's lucky." She looked to the bed and walked over. Lily looked at the fitfully sleeping boy, and brushed his hair gently from his face. Remus' eyes fluttered open.

"L-L...Lily? Why are you- Wha-" Lily hushed him gently.

"Remus John Lupin, you should know better than to go drinking with those two. What were you thinking?!" She smiled at him and turned to leave. "You three take care of him. No doubt this is your fault." And she walked out the door.

Remus sat up in bed, eyes wide. "What the bloody hell was _that?"_

**I guess my niche is dialogue. and ending chapters with dialogue. Ah well, whatevs, yo. Anyways, BOOM QUICK UPDATE! Hopefully there will be action next chapter. Or I'll wrap it up. At this point I really don't know. Also, I know Remus is supposed to be the liar and story teller and mister innocent **_**whatever**_**. But I got to thinking. Peter had to be a good actor to convince everyone he was on their side and not conspiring to kill a baby, right? **_**RIGHT?!**_** *ahem* Ju-Just a theory.**


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